Anarchists Attack Nuclear And Nanotechnology Scientists

An underground coalition with a dystopian view of nuclear and nanotechnology advancement has unleashed several recent shooting and bombing attacks. Their purpose is to push back against science that they say are aiming us towards “self-destruction and total slavery.” Nature reports:

A loose coalition of eco-anarchist groups is increasingly launching violent attacks on scientists.

A group calling itself the Olga Cell of the Informal Anarchist Federation International Revolutionary Front has claimed responsibility for the non-fatal shooting of a nuclear-engineering executive on 7 May in Genoa, Italy. The same group sent a letter bomb to a Swiss pro-nuclear lobby group in 2011; attempted to bomb IBM’s nanotechnology laboratory in Switzerland in 2010; and has ties with a group responsible for at least four bomb attacks on nanotechnology facilities in Mexico. Security authorities say that such eco-anarchist groups are forging stronger links.

“Science in centuries past promised us a golden age, but it is pushing us towards self-destruction and total slavery,” the letter continues. “With this action of ours, we return to you a tiny part of the suffering that you, man of science, are pouring into this world.” The group also threatened to carry out further attacks…

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another topic where both sides have a point that will be relentlessly argued to no avail. anarchy does not work, some of the people out there are complete scum while others will take advantage of your new society. where as science does work, …at least until it kills us all, then again we might all spontaneously combust right now, so lets all stop worrying and light a doobie, because lifes too short

Monkey See Monkey Do

There’s room for smoking a doobie under anarchy.

http://www.facebook.com/cees.timmerman Cees Timmerman

But what if the second-hand smoke causes the negroes enough brain damage to rape white women? We cannot allow this world to be ruled by Satan, comrade!

This makes me sad. This isn’t anarchism so much as Luddites railing against a world that they don’t understand.

-nightman-

too bad this is government sponsored terror, like all other terrorism.

mannyfurious

Your post makes me sad. Our “understanding” of technology has destroyed the environment, made us slaves to oil, slaves to ultimately useless–though admittedly fairly entertaining–technology, alienated us from one another, made fine craftsmanship obsolete and transformed our food into poison. Oh, but it’s cool because, like, there’s this new app for my smartphone that totally won’t make my life or anybody eles’s life any better but it like makes me feel special or something and then, some day, with nanotechnology, we’ll like become one with technology and we’ll live forever or some shit….

Johnnyutah

Yeah technology sucks. It was so cool when people used to die of horrible infections and have body parts amputated for minor injuries. It was awesome when it used to take days to ride a horse a few miles to the next town. How rad it was when we were unable to pick up a phone and call loved ones. It was hella sweet when children as young as 5 were made to work in mines doing the jobs that machines do now. Ah, the good old days…

mannyfurious

It’s the illusion of progress. Ignoring your hyperbole (like the fact that we didn’t used to have to call relatives because we all lived on the same farm or some shit), the majority of the world still lives like that. A good portion of America would fit a major portion of your description. But people like me and you get to ignore all of that because we have google and cell phones and we can watch tv shows on Hulu.

Johnnyutah

What? People all used to live on the same farm? What the hell are you talking about? Would not rampant greed and corruption be more to blame than the technology? When someone gets shot do you blame the gun?If you are so upset by all of this then why aren’t you out there doing something rather than watching Hulu like you said?

mannyfurious

I was being facetious with the “living on a same farm” response. I forget sometimes that tone and tenor don’t always come through with the written word The point was your counterpoints were somewhat exaggerated. “Rampant greed and corruption” seem to go hand in hand with techonology–after all, just about all technology is made with the interest of making money. This goes for medicine, electronics, farm chemicals, Mobile apps, etc. You think the google goggles are being developed for the betterment of mankind? My guess is probably not. My guess is the folks at google are anticipating making a crapload of cash off of those things. And in the meantime, while we all have google glasses, our civil rights will continue to be corroded, the costs of education and healthcare will continue to rise, the income gap will continue to widen and the banksters will continue to make billions off of screwing the rest of us. But, hey, at least we’ll have our google goggles, amirite?!

Anyhow, the fact that you resorted to weak analogies pseudo-ad hominems instead of grappling with any of my assertions suggests to me that you haven’t really thought this topic through. Besides, just because I may be a hypocrite (for using technology–and watching hulu–while criticizing technology) does not make my points any less valid or sound. Furthermore, the level of my antagonism toward technology is directly correlated to my dependence on it. The reason is because I am a slave to technology and I don’t think that’s a good thing. If, as a hypothetical, civilization were to collapse tomorrow, I would be royally fucked. I can’t grow my own food, I’m not a great hunter or fisherman, I don’t even want to imagine wiping my ass with anything besides charmin extra soft, I don’t know how to find clean water, I live in an area that gets as low as -50-degrees fahrenheit in the winter and there isn’t enough wood or fire to keep my house warm, I get bored unless I’m watching tv or playing on the computer and on and on.

Monkey See Monkey Do

You dont blame the gun but you can look around you and ask ‘why the fuck is everyone packin?’

Also you dont blame the technology but you can look around you and think ‘why is all the investment in the military sector?’

If you look around yourself and ask enough questions you will be driven to get out there and do something about it. To do anything less would seem like an immortal sin.

http://twitter.com/enkiv2 John Ohno

Just to point out: the term ‘technology’ refers to a wide variety of things, including but not limited to: clothing, the wheel, language, bipedal perambulation, and the use of tools to acquire food.

Please to not be abusing perfectly good words as though you were no better than a writer for the New York Times.

Monkey See Monkey Do

Lol. I’ve been thinking more along your lines lately. All this techno-fetishism is replacing real human contact. Younger people are always staring into their smartphones. Multiplayer Videogaming is being pushed online ie: World of warcraft junkies. Endless money being spent on hollywood movies, We are all being required to work more than ever before and more of that work is being done online. Soon the whole human race will end up staring at a screen.

mannyfurious

And we’ll have less freedoms and lower paychecks and more debt and nothing will actually be solved, but we’ll be satiated by our technology.

Jin The Ninja

great response.

http://twitter.com/enkiv2 John Ohno

You are conflating understanding with consuming. Someone with a smartphone is actually fairly unlikely to understand the technology underlying the gadget, and this goes doubly for someone using (say) RFID. One need not use a technology to understand it, either. The Unabomber is an example of someone who had the background to understand how those technologies he disentangled himself from worked: he was a professor of mathematics prior to taking up anarchoprimitivism and moving to a shack.

Now, whether or not understanding technologies will make the world actually a better place is an entirely different question. At the very least, were consumers largely competent in the fields pertaining to the materials they buy (in other words, if everyone in a position to buy a computer was an expert chemical engineer, mathematician, metallurgist, electrical engineer, programmer, mathematician, economist, physicist, and ecologist) there would be less waste as a result of foolish purchases. Most people are too lazy or stupid to master a wide variety of intense fields, unfortunately. But, that’s what a widespread ‘understanding’ of technology would entail: a world where everyone capable of owning a thing is a polymath.

mannyfurious

Well, that’s a good response. Good luck educating everyone, though. Let me know how that works out for you.

(On a side note, also, I don’t see how being more educated could’ve changed the way we’ve become wholly dependent on oil and all the negative aspects that come along with that addiction.)

http://www.facebook.com/cees.timmerman Cees Timmerman

Ditch foreign or hard to reach oil for biodiesel and ethanol from hemp, replace those wasteful cows with insects like most of the world eats, and use consistent units and grammar. That should keep you busy enough to not crave for something to hold and smoke.

the rare occasions when classical, Bakuninite Anarchism has been tried, it did work until people (Archists?) with guns came and killed them all (re: communards, Spain , early days post-1917 revolution until the Leninist cemented power). Also, Anarchism and technology aren’t mutually exclusive, it’s just that tech research requires funding and folks with the cash don’t necessarily have the human race’s overall general welfare as their number 1 priority. Thirdly, we’re talking about this on the internet.

Monkey See Monkey Do

The Paris commune, revolutionary Catalonia and the early period of the Russian revolution are required topics of research for anyone interested in Anarchism. Also for anyone who wishes to discuss it.

http://twitter.com/enkiv2 John Ohno

Does this Nature article call them anarchists only because they call themselves anarchists? While there do exist insurrectionist anarchoprimitivists, it seems a little rash to assume that anybody who attacks a group of scientists is an insurrectionist anarchoprimitivist. (You know, sidestepping the schismatic question of whether or not insurrectionist anarchists are “really” anarchists, and whether anarchoprimitivists are “really” anarchists, and all of that bullshit that keeps the mills grinding and the zines wasting ink)